There Will Be Brisket

Fresh from a glorious weekend in Hudson, New York for Sanaya and Chris' splendid wedding, I am ensconced in the kitchen making Rosh Hashanah dinner for a large crowd of family and friends.  Like a true Jewish mother and cook, I panicked this morning and worried that I hadn't prepared enough brisket for everybody.   (Being a vegetarian, I toyed with the notion of not making brisket at all and serving fish in its place.  But tradition won out and I didn't want to disappoint those who are incapable of imagining a New Year's dinner without brisket.) So I rushed out to the store bright and early and bought another piece of meat to cook.   

Yesterday I went for a long hike along the Wissahickon.  It felt like being somewhere far away but I was just a short drive from the city.  There wasn't a cloud in the sky when we started out.  The air was so clear it felt like it would shatter to the touch.  When I went to bed last night I turned off the air conditioning and opened the windows wide to the night.  It was delightfully cool and I snuggled under my comforter as if I was in Maine.  Is this the beginning of fall for real or just a tease? 

Those Were the Days

Having seen Stevie Nicks in AC this summer, this video seems particularly poignant to me. 

Alternative Reality

Clearly, I live in an alternative reality.  One where this is no such thing as "legitimate rape," a truly horrid phrase that I am still trying to get my mind around.  I mean, what makes a rape legitimate? I  just can't figure it out. Is it legitimate if the rapist doesn't beat you, use a gun or a knife, but just verbally threatens death and disfigurement.  Or is it legitimate if the victim is at wearing a mini skirt and tank top and knocking back a few beers? Or, looking through the other end of the telescope can someone tell me what makes a rape illegitimate?

The women at the Republican convention haven't figured it out yet either.  According to Irin Carmon who paid a visit to the so called Women's Pavilion at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, the women there just think men are "clueless."  They're not angry just a little aggravated. Boys will be boys, even congressmen.

Maybe they've decided to live in an alternative reality.

Night Time

 They say that August is the month of shooting stars but I haven't seen one yet this year.  (Time is running out.  I leave Maine on Sunday.) But instead I've witnessed a succession of incredible, technicolor sunsets no one alike, each one setting the sky ablaze with different colors and patterns. 

The last few nights I've walked down to the dock by myself before going to bed to watch the moon set over the lake.   For some reason I don't know and wouldn't understand anyway, the moon--first a sliver, then a crescent and tonight a half moon--is orange. The lake is dark and deep except for the faint orange glow cast by the setting moon.  When I look up I can see the Milky Way stretching overhead. I like to sit on the bench and breath in the quiet for a little bit.   And then I walk back to the house and go to sleep.

I Live in Dog World Now

Wilbur gets first dibs on the New York Times.

Wilbur and Ackee take over the couch.

Ackee travels first class to the dock.

The Akin Fuckery

As usual, Irin Carmon at Salon.com tells it like it is:

It’s not that I don’t understand why people, including pro-choice organizations, like to talk about rape or life endangerment exceptions. They illustrate how incredibly cruel opponents to abortion are, how divorced they are from the difficult and knotty circumstances of real life. And they help people who can’t understand what kind of woman has an abortion — despite that real 1-in-3 statistic — realize that all kinds of women have abortions, including ones they find sympathetic. Women who have abortions have been so demonized that storytelling helps make that essential empathic leap that so many people are missing. But as Akin shows, once you start haggling over reasons, you’re giving up half the fight — which is that this is about bodily autonomy and respect for women’s ability to determine their own lives.  

You can read the entire column here.